The One Important Health Risk You Must Know Before Jumping on the Charcoal Drink Trend

Charcoal has been used as a healthy remedy for an upset stomach for centuries. It's a naturally porous molecule that draws in toxins to help flush them out through your digestive system before they're absorbed by the stomach. It's no wonder that it's become the buzzy ingredient in cleansing waters, juices, and lemonades. We wrote about these activated charcoal juices when Juice Generation launched them in 2014. And we wrote about these charcoal juices from Pressed Juicery back in May. The latest version brand is Dirty Lemon, which we've been sipping on all week in lieu of an afternoon caffeine fix. All of these charcoal juices are refreshing and cleansing and overall a great addition to a healthy lifestyle, with one caveat. Because charcoal is so absorbent, you shouldn't drink any charcoal lemonade or juice right before or after taking any medication. WebMD explains: "Activated charcoal absorbs substances in the stomach and intestines. Taking activated charcoal along with medications taken by mouth can decrease how much medicine your body absorbs, and decrease the effectiveness of your medication." The Mayo Clinic recommendation is that "if you are taking any other medicine, do not take it within two hours of the activated

Charcoal has been used as a healthy remedy for an upset stomach for centuries. It's a naturally porous molecule that draws in toxins to help flush them out through your digestive system before they're absorbed by the stomach. It's no wonder that it's become the buzzy ingredient in cleansing waters, juices, and lemonades.

We wrote about these activated charcoal juices when Juice Generation launched them in 2014. And we wrote about these charcoal juices from Pressed Juicery back in May. The latest version brand is Dirty Lemon, which we've been sipping on all week in lieu of an afternoon caffeine fix. All of these charcoal juices are refreshing and cleansing and overall a great addition to a healthy lifestyle, with one caveat.

Because charcoal is so absorbent, you shouldn't drink any charcoal lemonade or juice right before or after taking any medication. WebMD explains: "Activated charcoal absorbs substances in the stomach and intestines. Taking activated charcoal along with medications taken by mouth can decrease how much medicine your body absorbs, and decrease the effectiveness of your medication." The Mayo Clinic recommendation is that "if you are taking any other medicine, do not take it within two hours of the activated charcoal." In fact, Dirty Lemon recommends a full five-hour window between popping a pill and sipping their drink.

What this means for you: If you take birth control pills in the morning, for example, the safest time to drink your charcoal water or juice would be at night. If you take nighttime meds, it's a safer idea to drink your charcoal water or juice in the morning. Got it? This way, you can enjoy the cleansing effects of the drink without flushing out anything you actually want your body to absorb.